Aquarium visit!

1L goes to the aquarium!

First Grade scientists were in full throttle today at the New England Aquarium! We observed animal adaptations, saw tons of amazing creatures, explored the Galápagos Islands in 3D and even had a lost tooth! It was truly an amazing day of wet, fun, and most importantly learning for all! Thank you chaperones for all of your help!

Love,
Mrs. L

Aquarium Field Trip

Reminder: First Grade Field Trip is TOMORROW!

Our fabulous First Graders will be attending a field trip to Boston's New England Aquarium this
Thursday May 25, 2017.

Please take a look at the reminders that are going home in GO Books today.

Pack bag lunches with disposable containers
Dress in layers
Wear sneakers

Review these videos with your students to help them prepare for our visit.

Chaperones, please take a look at your notes that went home in GO Books yesterday. If you have any questions, please let me know asap! (Please arrive at 8:30 with a backpack to carry lunches!)

Love,
Mrs. L

US Symbols

US Symbols Study

First Graders will begin a study of US symbols this week. In addition to singing songs and reading books, students will be watching videos to learn about several important US symbols. Here are some:

The National Anthem

The Washington Monument

The Lincoln Memorial

The White House

The Pledge of Allegiance

The Statue of Liberty

The Liberty Bell

For the rest of the week, students are encouraged to watch the video titled, US Symbols on Brainpop jr.! Don't forget to discuss these with your children at dinner and plan your next family trips to these important places!

Love,

Mrs. L

Derby Day and Plant parts!

Derby Day!

Readers pay attention to NEW words! The Derby is a fun and new way to apply strategies for learning NEW vocabulary. Because it is a topic most students know very little about, it is my favorite for teaching students how to tackle unknown words and then add them to our knowledge banks! 

Good readers...

May know how to read a word, but may not know what it means!

Notice words they don't know!

Stop and think about words they don't know!

Skip the word and read the other words around it to help figure it out!

Make a good guess based on pictures and other words!

 Reader's Theater! 

Students worked in groups to apply learned reading fluency strategies by performing special fairy tale plays! 

Good readers...

Bring characters to life!

Reread to learn more about characters!

Reread to sound like the character!

Notice when feelings change and change your voice!

Use clues in the book to think about HOW to read - punctuation, italics, bold words, dialogue and pictures!

Scientist study PLANTS!

Feel free to watch the videos on Brainpop about PLANTS this week and next for homework! 

Conversations for the dinner table...

Although each plant and animal has characteristics which are unique, it is also true that there are many characteristics which apply to practically all plants or animals. Most plants have the common features such as roots, stems, and leaves, and most animals have the usual features such as head, eyes, ears, feet, and limbs. It is how these common parts are designed, along with the unique characteristics of each plant and animal, which determine how well a plant or animal will survive in the environment into which it is placed.

Plants may be grouped into many different categories. The most common classes are herbaceous - plants with soft, green stems - and woody, plants with stems of fibrous wood. Most flowers, vegetables, and houseplants have soft, green stems; while most trees have stems of wood (trunks). Animals can be arranged into many different groups, such as animals with fins, fur, wings, scales, or claws. By observing the external characteristics of a plant or an animal, we can determine the best environment for that organism. In many environments which may be considered less than ideal, we can observe how plants and animals have developed special characteristics to allow them to survive.

Each of the parts of a plant has a special characteristic and performs a task to insure the welfare of the plant. The roots help provide support by anchoring the plant and absorbing water and nutrients from the surrounding soil for growth. Stems, or trunks in woody plants, carry water and nutrients from the roots up to the leaves and sugar made in the leaves down to the roots. Stems also provide support for the plant allowing the leaves to reach sunlight. Leaves are the food producing factories. Through the process of photosynthesis, carbon dioxide in the air along with water in the leaves and light energy are changed to sugar, or energy for the plant.

Each part of a plant or animal is an important contributor to the success and well being of the organism. A plant or animal that is missing one of its important parts will not have a very good chance for survival. A hawk that can’t fly, a duck that can’t swim, or a cheetah that cannot run will not be able to survive in a harsh environment. Every part of an organism is necessary for life.

-Stemscopes

Love, 

Mrs. L

Critter Release!

Hello 1L Families! 

This week we will be wrapping up our Animal Habitats unit! In final celebration, we will be sending home our classroom pets with willing families for adoption. We will be sending fish, snails and raffling off our very own indoor terrariums. If you are interested in adopting one of our classroom pets, please make your requests or dis-requests known by filling out the form sent home. Please respond by TOMORROW! Thanks!

Love,

Mrs. L

Amazing moments in 1L!

Derby Day!

This week, students in 1L will be learning all about horses and the Kentucky Derby as part of a mini non-fiction reading and writing unit. As an end of unit celebration, all students are encouraged to wear their Churchill Downs finest attire and of course a hat on Friday, May 5th. I look forward to seeing all my friends dressed up on Friday! 

Animal Habitats! 

The creatures have arrived! Students in 1L are taking care of guppies, millipedes, snails and pill bugs! We have discussed animal adaptations, inheritance and survival! We have also discussed how people mimic animal adaptations in order to solve our own problems. 

 Observations are scientific. They include arrows, zoom in pictures, labels, captions and explanations of details we observe with our senses.

Students were asked to design their own habitat based on an animals' unique needs. Thanks for all of your help with the natural materials! These shoebox models were our way of proving our knowledge of the things different animals would have to consider in order to survive!

 "shopping" for supplies!

 Making a plan!

 Creating a model!

Love,

Mrs. L

Mother's Day RSVP!

Don't forget to COME for our...

1L Mother’s Day Celebration

Please join us for light refreshments, gifts and love!

When: Friday, May 12, 2017

Time: 9:00-9:30am

Where: Mrs. Lazazzero’s Classroom; Room 102